Just because you don't have a smartphone doesn't mean you can't take advantage of Google Voice. Here's how to tweak your phone and Google Voice settings to (almost) perfectly integrate Google's service with your device.

We know there are still some of you out there that haven't upgraded to a smartphone, and unfortunately there aren't a ton of ways to hack and customize a so-called feature phone. Luckily, one of the ways you can boost its usefulness is sign up for Google Voice. I know because before I upgraded to an Android phone, I was using Voice with an older flip phone. It'll take a bit of manual work and patience to integrate it well with your phone, but once you do, you'll have a ton of new options for managing your contacts and calls—not to mention you'll be able to send SMS messages and listen to voicemail right from your web browser. Here's how to get it all working seamlessly.

Receiving Text Messages

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To receive text messages on your phone when people text you using your Google Voice number, just head into Voice's Settings and hit "Add another phone" (if you haven't added your phone already). If you've already added it, hit the Edit button for that phone. Make sure the "Receive text messages on this phone" box is checked.

Now, whenever someone texts your Google Voice number, you'll get a new text message on your phone from a number you probably haven't seen before (often from a 406 are code). It will say who the text is from and list the body of the message (i.e. "New SMS from Adam Pash: Hey, what's up?").

The number from which you received that text is the number through which Google Voice routes communication with that contact. We'll call it their "alternate number". If you text this number back, they'll receive that text on their phone—and it will have come from your Google Voice number instead of your phone's number. Add that number to your contacts as "Mobile 2" (or something similar) for that person. That way, when they send a text to your Voice number, you'll be able to see that it's from them, and not from some number you don't know.

Sending Text Messages

You can also use this alternate number to text a given contact when you want your message to come from your Google Voice number. Since each of your contacts will have their own alternate number, you'll have to edit every contact card in your phone. The best way to do this is to send out a mass text when you first sign up for Voice. Send a text to all your contacts from the Google Voice webapp, notifying them of your number change and asking them to reply once they've switched your number in their phone. When they reply, you'll have their alternate number, and you can convert all your contacts in one fell swoop!

If you're texting other people who are on Googl eVoice, you can tell Google Voice to send all text messages from your phone to theirs using your Google Voice number (so you don't have to use their alternate number). To do so, head into Google Voice's settings and hit the Calls tab. Under "Caller ID (outgoing)", check the "Display my Google Voice number" box. Now, any time you text someone—whether you use their alternate number or normal number—they'll see your Google Voice number on the other side.

Receiving Phone Calls

This part is pretty simple. When people call you from Google Voice, it'll show you their phone number—which, if you have stored in your phone, will also display their name and/or picture. No tweaking required!

However, you can set it to display your Google Voice number if you so choose. You won't know who's calling when you first look at your screen, but you'll know that the call is coming to your Voice number and not your regular number. This is handy for people that are using both numbers—say, one for work and one for personal calls.

If you set it to display your Google Voice number, you can still see who's calling by enabling Call Screening in Voice's preferences. That way, you'll see a call is coming to your Google Voice number when the phone rings, and when you pick it up, Voice will tell you which of your contacts is on the other end of the phone. You can then choose to accept or reject the call on that basis.

Making Phone Calls

There are two ways to make phone calls with your Google Voice number. The first (and easiest) way is to find your contact's alternate number—the one we talked about in the SMS section. If you call that number, you'll call their phone, but their caller ID will show your Google Voice number instead of your phone's number. As I mentioned before, you'll probably want to save this alternate number as "Mobile 2" or something similar in your contacts—that way, you can easily call anyone you want from your Voice number at any time.

Unfortunately, this doesn't work if the person you want to call hasn't texted you before. In this case, your only choice is to dial your own Voice number, enter your PIN number, press 2, and then dial the number you want to call. It isn't exactly easy, but unfortunately, it's the only way to call someone who's alternate number you don't have yet. If you want to add someone to your contacts who's alternate number you don't have, I'd suggest texting them and asking that they text you back, then using their alternate number as described above. If you can't do this for some reason (say, in the case of a landline), there's a pretty nasty workaround you can use.

There is a way, on most phones, to add a series of button presses to a contact's number. So, if you want to call someone's landline, you can set their contact card in your phone to dial your Google Voice number, pause, input your PIN for you, pause again, press 2, pause, and then dial their number. It isn't pretty, but after that you'll be able to call that landline from your Google Voice number just by clicking on that contact. Of course, you'll have to wait a few extra seconds in between hitting enter and starting the call.

The "code" for pause is different on every phone model, so you'll have to look it up in your instruction manual. For example, though, on my old Samsung Gleam, you just had to hold the * key for two seconds, and a "P" would appear indicating that it would pause for two seconds. So, to call my home phone (555-5555, for the sake of this demo) from my Voice number (666-666), that contact would be:

666-6666 P 1234 P 2 P 555-5555

Where "1234" is my Google Voice PIN number.

Again, it isn't pretty, but as of right now, it's the best you can do for making outbound calls.

Voicemail Transcription

Google Voice can also transcribe your voicemails, so you don't have to actually listen to them to see what they're regarding. To enable this feature, head into Google Voice's Settings and go to the Voicemail & Text tab. Under "Voicemail Transcripts", check the Transcribe Voicemails box. Then, under "Voicemail Notifications", check the "Send a text (SMS) message to" box for your phone. Whenever someone leaves you a voicemail, you'll get a text message with the transcription on it. It won't be perfect (far from it), but I've found you can usually tell what the call is in regards to, so you know whether it's someone you need to call back right away or not. It's pretty handy. (I also set it to send me an email, too, which is handy when I'm at my desk).

Sending All Calls to Google's Voicemail Instead of Your Carrier's

If you'd like to manage all your voicemail with Google Voice—which I think is a good idea—you can actually route all calls, even those made to your mobile number, to your Google Voice inbox. The process is a bit different for each carrier, but Google has a good tutorial for each one in its settings. Just head to the Phones tab and click the "Activate Google voicemail on this phone" link. It will walk you through the steps. When you're done, any time someone calls you and you aren't available—whether they call your Voice number or your regular number—they'll leave a voicemail in your Google inbox instead of your carrier's. That way, you get transcriptions and online voicemail management for all calls, not just Voice ones.

Hopefully, with these few fixes in place, you should be able to get some serious power out of Google Voice, even without a smartphone. If you've been rocking Google Voice on a your feature phone for awhile, be sure to share your tips and tricks in the comments.